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Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent and instructive introduction to Biblical poetry
Review: James Kugel is one of the world's great experts on Biblical literature. In this work he translates a selection of Biblical poetry with the hope of providing a real introduction and feeling of the subject. He makes the point that there are Biblical texts which it is difficult to really classify either as poetry or prose but others which have clearly the special vitality and intensity of poetry. He does not translate all of Tehillim( Psalms) but chooses those which have special meaning for him, 104, 42, 29, 51,23, 137,119. He also translates what he calls Biblical ' one- line poetry' primarily from Ecclesiastes and Proverbs.He has a section from the Song of Songs, from Micah, Isaiah, Ecclesiastes, Jeremiah,Amos, Job, Judges, Samuel I. In an illuminating introduction he talks about the various styles of Biblical poetry from the pastoral direct country style of Amos to the magnificent overwhelming sophistication of Isaiah. He also speaks insightfully about the difficulties of translation and makes the interesting point that peoples of another time 'see and feel things through the language' that we do not. His love of the poetry and knowledge of it is apparent.
A wonderful book.
Some examples from the section on one- line poetry.
" Like the sound of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools." Ecclesiastes
"If a tree falls to the sourth or to the north, wherever it falls, there it is. " Ecclesiastes
" A good man's name is a blessing, but a wicked man's name rots. Proverbs.
" One who grabs a dog by the ears, a passerby who meddles in a dispute not hi own."
" The north wind gives birth to the rain , and secret speech to an angry face." Proverbs
"A name is better than scented oil, and the day of death than the day of one's birth . Ecclesiastes.
Rating:
Summary: A quietly moving tribute...
Review: Kugel's book provides wonderful insight into some of the subtleties that lie behind these 'poems' of the Bible so often lost in translation and literalized in this overly scientific day and age of ours.The poems, with the commentary provided by Kugel, come alive on the page and Kugel's knowledge and enthusiasm for the material is obvious on each and every page. A worthy addition to any collection.
Rating:
Summary: The Poets' poet
Review: The Great Poems of the Bible could also have been titled: "Wisdom in the Bible". In his book, James Kugel shows the depths of thought and feeling that one can encounter in these texts when one takes the time to ponder their words and rhythms. The Wisdom which is put forth is far from the sanctimonious moralizing of some. Rather it is an endeavour to picture the universe as a whole, where in the end harmony triumphs. Kugel's prose itself is a tour de force of poetry and most probably it took a poet to reveal the Poems of the Bible from the all encompassing cries of the Prophets to the "one-liners" of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. One cannot finish this book without desiring to read it over again.
Rating:
Summary: The Poets' poet
Review: The Great Poems of the Bible could also have been titled: "Wisdom in the Bible". In his book, James Kugel shows the depths of thought and feeling that one can encounter in these texts when one takes the time to ponder their words and rhythms. The Wisdom which is put forth is far from the sanctimonious moralizing of some. Rather it is an endeavour to picture the universe as a whole, where in the end harmony triumphs. Kugel's prose itself is a tour de force of poetry and most probably it took a poet to reveal the Poems of the Bible from the all encompassing cries of the Prophets to the "one-liners" of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. One cannot finish this book without desiring to read it over again.
Rating:
Summary: Exposing the beauty of Biblical Poetry
Review: This book (interestingly enough written as a textbook for the second half of Professor Kugel's Introduction to the Bible Course) is a beautiful book examining the wonders of Biblical Poetry. As Kugel notes, the poems have none of the classic poetic elements in English of meter or rhyme, but do have this wonderful ____A____|____B____|| element to them. He carefully walks the reader through how the bridge between A and B is important, and develops in a scholarly but totally readable way how the poem generates meaning. Anyone interseted in understanding further how the Bible works, and how it applies to our life should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Exposing the beauty of Biblical Poetry
Review: This book (interestingly enough written as a textbook for the second half of Professor Kugel's Introduction to the Bible Course) is a beautiful book examining the wonders of Biblical Poetry. As Kugel notes, the poems have none of the classic poetic elements in English of meter or rhyme, but do have this wonderful ____A____|____B____|| element to them. He carefully walks the reader through how the bridge between A and B is important, and develops in a scholarly but totally readable way how the poem generates meaning. Anyone interseted in understanding further how the Bible works, and how it applies to our life should read this book.
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